I just finished reading Peanuts: A Tribute to Charles M. Schulz, and if I ever get called on to create material for a tribute book, I think I’ll start by reading this volume again. That’s because it contains a variety of takes of what it means to be doing a tribute. There are personal reminiscences about the book and Schulz, there are people telling Peanuts strips in their own style, people looking at it from another angle, and some just parodies. Some felt kind of inappropriately placed, even when they were very well done and clearly done with a large knowledge of Peanuts that could only come with a certain degree of love. So dwelling on what’ s in here, both what works and what felt properly in place, would likely shape my own writing. But it’s well worth having read.

One editorial choice I found curious was that the last five multi-page pieces in the book were all by female cartoonists, with the last four (by Liz Prince, Shaenon K. Garrity, Melanie Gillman, and Molly Ostertag) being focused on Peppermint Patty and Marcie. The book is not otherwise organized thematically, and this felt a bit like these pieces were being ghettoized… but those last batch are mostly some of the better stuff in the book, very much in the realm of “the Peanuts world as seen through a different, talented perspective.” (And to be clear, these aren’t the only female cartoonists in the book; it’s PP&M who are being sent to the back.)

Overall, I felt it well worth reading, but it’s not recommended who only want their Peanuts pure.

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